Then she broke down into tears, sobbing like a baby. Now, we all know my sister was difficult, but I didn’t like to hear her cry like this. In fact, I couldn’t remember ever hearing her cry like this.

“Leslie, come on now. Talk to me.”

“I can’t. I’m coming home.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, clean my room. I’ll be there tomorrow night.”

Oh, yes, princess, I’m already running for the vacuum.

“How long are you staying?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is Charlie coming?”

“No. Charlie is not coming. He’s going . . .”

“Where?”

“To Las Vegas.”

“For what?”

“Oh, hell, you’re going to find out anyway. To audition to be in a show. Dressed as a woman.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“You heard me correctly. Charlie is a female impersonator.”

“Just get yourself home. We’ll get this all sorted out.”

Holy hell, I thought. Holy hell.

“There can only be one queen bee per hive,” I said.

“But what if another one wants to move in?” Hunter said.

“Then there’s gonna be trouble.”

Chapter Six

Bee Truthful

In the morning, I didn’t tell our mother anything except that Leslie had called and was coming for a visit, but not that she was coming alone. I didn’t tell her about Charlie and what she said he was up to. I’d always thought there was something different about him, like he was hiding something. Dang, I was sure sorry to be right about that one. Frankly, I was surprised. I didn’t understand why anyone would want to be a female impersonator in Las Vegas or anywhere. I knew I’d been leading a sheltered life. My mind just didn’t go to things like seeing my name in neon lights. Besides, this was Leslie’s story to tell Momma, not mine.

I told my bees all about Leslie and Charlie, but that was entirely different than telling a person. They began doing their waggle dance, which they generally did when they wanted their sisters to follow them to a new location to slurp up nectar and pollen from a different patch of flowers. I like to think they waggled because the news was upsetting to them. Maybe they were warning me to be careful. Did I really want to live with Leslie again? How long was she staying? Did I have any options? Not really.